Banned or restricted substance
Is potassium bromate banned in India?
Last checked 21 September 2026
Potassium bromate has been prohibited as a food additive in India since June 2016, when FSSAI removed it from the permitted list following a CSE study that found it in Delhi bread samples; it remains permitted in the United States.
- Classification
- Prohibited (Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006)
- Decided by
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
- Reference
- Amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 removing potassium bromate, June 2016
- Latest action
- 20 June 2016
- Last checked
- 21 September 2026
Photo: Supermarket Rice Brands 02.jpg by Smarthem (CC0). All photo credits.
Potassium bromate in food items banned
Our team has checked this record against the published reports, last on 21 September 2026. The government order itself is not published online, or we have not found it yet, so we link the best public report. If you have the order, send it to us and we will link it instead.
Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.
Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe explain what has been reported. The report above is the best source we hold.
Key facts
- What it is
- Flour treatment agent used to strengthen dough and improve loaf volume
- Why banned
- Classed as possibly carcinogenic to humans (IARC Group 2B); residues found in bread by a Centre for Science and Environment study, May 2016
- When
- June 2016
- Elsewhere
- Banned in the EU, UK, Canada, China and others; still permitted in the US
- Potassium iodate
- Also flagged by CSE in 2016; status:
Potassium bromate is an oxidising agent that bakers once added to flour to strengthen gluten and produce a higher, softer loaf. Under ideal baking conditions it converts to harmless bromide, but residues survive in under-baked or heavily dosed bread. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classes it as possibly carcinogenic to humans, and most major food regulators outside the United States have removed it from their permitted lists.
India followed in 2016. In May of that year the Centre for Science and Environment published tests showing potassium bromate and potassium iodate in a majority of bread and bakery samples bought in Delhi. FSSAI's scientific panel reviewed the evidence and in June 2016 the authority removed potassium bromate from the list of permitted flour treatment agents in the Food Additives Regulations; Business Standard reported the decision on 21 Jun 2016. The status of potassium iodate, which CSE also flagged, is to be confirmed.
The ban is on use as an additive, so it operates through the regulations rather than through a product-specific order. Any bread, bun or bakery product made in India that contains potassium bromate is in breach, and state food safety officers test for it during bakery inspections.
What this means for you
Indian bread should not contain it
Licensed bakeries cannot use it. A label listing 'potassium bromate' or 'INS 924' is a violation.
The US exception explains the confusion
'Banned in India but legal in the US' lists often lead with bromate. Both statements are true.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Common questions
Is potassium bromate in bread in India?
It should not be. Its use has been prohibited since June 2016; state inspections test for it.
Official sources and primary records
- Potassium bromate in food items bannedNewsBusiness Standard · 21 June 2016